Three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Dean DeBlois write, produces and directs the reimagined first film of DreamWorks Animation's hugely successful animated trilogy that first hit theaters in 2010.
Audiences can finally get their first look at How to Train Your Dragon, the live-action reimagining of the first film in the hugely successful animated franchise launched by DreamWorks Animation back in 2010. Like so many productions, it was delayed by last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, but is now set to fly into theaters June 13, 2025.
The new film is written, produced and directed by three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Dean DeBlois, who along with The Wild Robot director Chris Sanders, wrote and directed the original. It is also produced by three-time Oscar nominee Marc Platt (Wicked, La La Land) and Emmy winner Adam Siegel (Drive, 2 Guns).
Christian Manz is serving as production VFX supervisor; VFX studios on the film include Framestore and Clear Angle Studios.
The film is set on the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup (Mason Thames; The Black Phone, For All Mankind) stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his voice role from the animated franchise), Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.
With the fierce and ambitious Astrid (BAFTA nominee Nico Parker; Dumbo, The Last of Us) and the village’s quirky blacksmith Gobber (Nick Frost; Snow White and the Huntsman, Shaun of the Dead) by his side, Hiccup confronts a world torn by fear and misunderstanding.
As an ancient threat emerges, endangering both Vikings and dragons, Hiccup’s friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader.
The film also stars Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Gabriel Howell (Bodies), Bronwyn James (Wicked), Harry Trevaldwyn (Smothered), Ruth Codd (The Midnight Club), BAFTA nominee Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Murray McArthur (Game of Thrones).
Inspired by Cressida Cowell’s New York Times bestselling book series, DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon franchise earned four Academy Award nominations and grossed more than $1.6 billion at the global box-office.
How To Train Your Dragon is part of the Filmed For IMAX Program, which offers filmmakers IMAX technology to help them deliver high-quality immersive movie experience to audiences around the world.
Source: NBC Universal
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
